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Machiavelli's work - textualisation

When Giovanni took control of the Medici family in 1397 he began to expand it into a truly international venture. There's a lot of internal politics going on in Rome. Take, for example, Baldassare Cossa.

The nudity is emblematic of the pride of the Florentines. Donatello's 'David with Goliath's Head' is the first 3d sculpture since ancient times. It represents the values of civic life so well promoted since the middle of the 13th century. It also captures the psyche of the 15th century artists, their confidence to produce such artworks. It represents the wealth, prosperity and prominence of the Medici family. And with such prominence comes enemies. Cosimo was almost assassinated and was exiled and then allowed to return. With his enemies essentially defeated and the Signoria in his control, all decisions made in the Signoria went through the house of Medici. In the mean time he continued to pay artists to create work.

Medici, the most powerful family, the most powerful bank, the greatest patron of the arts. All of these successful ventures were not isolated but were connected and all tapping into the continuous rise of the humanitas values in the 15th century.

Lorenzo's reign was during the peak of the medici power and fortune. He was magnificent. Lorenzo de 'Medeici 'Il Magnifico' (1449-1492)

The problems that arose in Italy in the 1490's were to affect the fortune of Florentine. The constant making and breaking of alliances, Milan, constantly putting pressure on rival city states, did not help.

These skirmishes reached a crisis point in 1490. Refer to hand out - Ludovico Sforza invited Charles VIII to invade Italy.

By the early 16th century there is a lot of turmoil and this itself impacts on the type of art produced, the type of intellectual endeavours, the type of politics.